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  #1  
Old 10-23-2006, 04:15 PM
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617 Will not start Please Help!

I have been working on my '79 300td and dont know what next to do. Ive had a lot of problems with it being hard to start esp. in cold weather so i borrowed a DMM and found my #3 Glow Plug was out, this is the series filament type so #3-#1 were all out. Replaced all GP's and rather than fixing it it seems to have made it worse. Where it once coughed and sputtered and if lucky stumbled into starting it now just cranks and cranks with only the occasional cough. I have run my battery down trying to start this thing and recharged it numerous times. I pluged in the block heater for 45 minutes before trying again and ran the plugs twice, nothing. I thought then to do a valve adjustment which did not help. Then i thought it was my battery/starter being weak so i charged up, and used my charger on the jumper 50amp setting to try and boost it's cranking speed. Still did not start.

What should i do? I know i did not properly ream out the plug holes for lack of tools. Would this make all the difference? I dont have the DMM right now so i can not be sure but the connector wires all get hot so i am assuming the plugs are all getting power. I have thought about replacing the battery and the starter but i dont want to just dump money in the wrong place. maybe its not the wrong place though, considering how hard i have been on the two. I thought of doing a compression test but i dont have a compression tester or know anyone who does... i really have been looking this site up and down and im sorry to make another thread but i dont know where else to go.

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Old 10-23-2006, 04:31 PM
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mmmmmm Diesel...
 
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Are you sure plugs 4 and 5 are good? how is the fuse and the GP relay?

The plug holes should be reamed. You could also look into converting to the pencil type plugs.
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Old 10-23-2006, 05:17 PM
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Are you sure you wired the new glow plugs in properly? It is possible to put the porcelain thing in the wrong place and, in effect, cause the juice not to be transferred from one to the next. I did this once, and my car started, but always chugging and rough, until an experienced MB tech looked at the plug-to-plug wiring and noticed that I had inadvertantly mis-wired it all. Hope you can follow what I just said. Anyway, consulting a good picture of the proper alignment of glow plug connections would be a good idea.

Good luck.

Joe Bauers

P.S. I also have a 1979 300TD--love it.
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Old 10-23-2006, 05:37 PM
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You may want to try this.

http://dieselgiant.com/mercedesdieselloopglowplugrepair.htm
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  #5  
Old 10-25-2006, 03:49 PM
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Ok. Thanks for the replies. I guess what i am saying is that I KNOW the holes SHOULD be reamed out but i dont have an approprately sized reamer. WITHOUT reaming the holes is there any reason this thing would behave this way(not starting at all) or would it just start rough? Also RRgrassi i have no idea of the condition of the old 4-5 plugs, i replaced them all... I am assuming the Fuse and Relay are good because my test light glows at all points of the circuit. i most definetly have the insulators installed in the right direction and as for upgrading to the pencil type i just spent $80 on 5 new filament types and am a little reluctant to spend more especially when i am not sure my problem in in my preglow/preheating system. This thing ran me 1300+ miles in the last month, i know it runs i just need to get it started...
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  #6  
Old 10-25-2006, 04:26 PM
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You've concluded that the glow plugs are the culprit, however, one bad glow plug won't prevent the engine from starting. Replacing that glow plug had the anticipated result: the engine didn't start.

So, I conclude that the problem is elsewhere.

When was the last time this engine had a valve adjustment or verification of cam timing?
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  #7  
Old 10-25-2006, 07:16 PM
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jackcrac,
It would be incredibly helpful if you updated your personal information to include a location (a region is sufficient) and add a signature that includes year, model and mileage.
I'm particularly interested in location 'cause I want to know if its been really cold there lately. These babies should still fire up eventually in most of the US right now w/o glow plugs.

My vote is a fuel delivery issue.
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  #8  
Old 10-25-2006, 07:42 PM
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An easy test too see if your GPs are getting juice is check too see if your cabin light dims when you glow your plugs,

your starter needs too turn at least 100 RPMs so a healthy starter is a must with a few miles on those older engines.

You can tow start those cars, instructions are in the owners manual, as I remember you need to get up to 35 mph or so.

When you continue to crank these engines the cylinder walls get washed down with diesel and you lose some of the compression you had. Maybe let her set for a while if you cant tow start it.

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